The National Humanities Conference brings together the public humanities and academia to explore local and national opportunities and challenges, discover new ideas and research, learn about collaborations and best practices, and strengthen America’s humanities network.

The National Humanities Conference brings together the public humanities and academia to explore local and national opportunities and challenges, discover new ideas and research, learn about collaborations and best practices, and strengthen America’s humanities network. National Humanities Conference is co-hosted by the National Humanities Alliance and the Federation of State Humanities Councils.

THE FEDERATION OF STATE HUMANITIES COUNCILS AND THE NATIONAL HUMANITIES ALLIANCE are pleased to announce
the 2018 National Humanities Conference, which will take place in New Orleans in conjunction with the city’s
tricentennial celebration. The National Humanities Conference brings together the public humanities and academia to
explore local and national opportunities and challenges, discover new ideas and research, learn about collaborations
and best practices, and strengthen America’s humanities network.

We will gather in New Orleans to draw attention to the remarkable ways local communities are integrating the
humanities into public life. The city’s 300th anniversary celebration will serve as an ideal backdrop for these
conversations. Emerging from a mixture of Native American, French, Spanish, and African influences, New Orleans
boasts a dynamic creole culture that endures in the “post-Katrina” era. Residents continue to wrestle with the legacy
of slavery, confront coastal land loss, adjust to a changing educational landscape, and reimagine their neighborhoods
while continuing to celebrate their city’s renowned traditions. The humanities find fertile ground in a city where street
parades, shotgun houses, and iconic cemeteries are living parts of communities and where preservation plays a
central role in the local economy.

While aspects of this culture are unique to New Orleans, the challenges faced by the city offer touchpoints for other
American communities. New Orleans promises to be a thought-provoking setting for renewed conversations about the
centrality of the humanities in our diverse worlds